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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766294">Re:Connect ReMixed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceyly/pseuds/iceyly'>iceyly</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>KH3 but competent [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>/gestures at the series title, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-it fic, Gen, KH3 spoilers, no beta we die disney deaths like sora I guess, this is the productive conversion of salt into writing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:29:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766294</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceyly/pseuds/iceyly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know this place…" Riku can't help but note. "It's where Sora and I ended up after we fought Xemnas. We found our way back home from here."</p><p>"I don't think that Aqua had as much luck," Mickey replies, ears dropping slightly as he shakes his head. "She was here, I can feel that much… but her Light has moved to an abyss far beyond my reach. Ta dive deeper into the Darkness from here…"</p><p>"Well, we've come this far," Riku says, rolling back his shoulders. Much as he had hoped that they would be able to just pick up Aqua and maybe fight their way back out together, this situation isn't entirely unexpected. "The Darkness trapping Aqua… it can't be any worse than the nightmare that trapped Sora. And besides… isn't this exact scenario why Master Yen Sid wanted us to learn the power of waking in the first place?"</p><p>-------</p><p>Or: Leaving Aqua a second time was never an option. Riku was named Keyblade Master for a reason, after all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aqua &amp; Mickey Mouse (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua &amp; Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse &amp; Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Riku &amp; Riku Replica (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>KH3 but competent [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Re:Connect ReMixed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/768108">some guilt runs deep</a> by reflera @ twitter.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>…What am I doing starting yet again another series? Idek, adding to it as the mood strikes probably because this isn't planned as chaptered fic, but as a series of one-shots, telling tales from the <b>KH3 but with a competent cast AU</b>, where I'll just. leave my salt with KH3 in a productive way.</p><p>THAT SAID, getting started on this and one particular scene in this fic were inspired by <a href="https://twitter.com/reflera/status/1361833182610550784">a comic by remflera</a> on twitter! This was the most impulse and focused fic writing I've done in a while and I had a lot of fun with it! </p><p>The title is absolutely referring back to my very first fic on this site actually, because I can and also it feels fitting because <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/459637">Re:Connect</a> was the AU where Aqua found Sora and Riku in the Dark Margin instead of DiZ. Sue me, I like call-backs, no matter if I do them to canon or to myself. |D</p><p>That said, I hope you enjoy the ride! :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s familiar, Riku keeps thinking. The intense pressure of the Darkness around them. The gentle coil of his own Darkness under his skin, resonating with it. The memories of being trapped in this world, one time faint like a dream but heavy with so many regrets and one time laced with lightness because then he hadn’t been alone.</p><p>He had been afraid both times. He is no longer afraid now.</p><p>Something has settled in his Heart, ever since the Mark of Mastery-exam, ever since he stood before Xehanort’s Heartless and swore to turn that Darkness back to Light. Even though the Heartless here are stronger than the ones he has faced so often in the Realm of Light, Way to the Dawn cuts through them swiftly every time without a second of hesitance or wasted movement.</p><p>“Ya seem to have somethin’ on ya mind, Riku,” says Mickey. “Ya sure, yer okay being here?”</p><p>“It’s fine,” he replies, touched by the worry, however unnecessary. It would have offended him, a felt lifetime ago… or maybe not. Not after Castle Oblivion, never with Mickey. Their time together has forged a bond after all, a friendship very unlike any other that Riku had known before racing up those seemingly endless stairs to escape the Basement.</p><p>(He’s always been the elder on Destiny Island in his age group, always the one who was depended on. Equally responsible in taking charge of any mischief caused and for dealing with the fall out. With Mickey… for the first time there was a friend to turn to, who could help when Riku himself was at the end of his rope.</p><p>They are on more equal footing now, but Mickey will always, always remain the first person that Riku wil ask for help.)</p><p>“I guess, I just didn’t expect to feel so calm about this Realm either,” he continues. “It’s not that I think that saving Aqua will be that easy… but maybe, some part of me was afraid before, even when I thought I wasn’t. So much, that it feels strange not to be afraid at all.”</p><p>Mickey nods, something like pride gleaming in his eyes: “Ya grew up a lot since we spoke that first time, right in this realm. Ya were always thinkin’ with yer head back then… and now ya listen more to what yer Heart is tellin’ ya, instead. Ya don’t doubt yer instincts anymore, so now ya have the strength ya need to go on further.”</p><p>Riku blinks at that, a single phrase echoing in is mind: a strength that he needs. For a second his eyes drift to his right hand, and he feels the phantom buzz of Way to the Dawn lingering under his skin. Remembers the spark of warmth from the very first time he closed his grip around a Keyblade.</p><p>“<em>Strength for what?</em>” whispers the memory, the one that he's never quite forgotten and that he’s been recalling more and more clearly ever since he last saw Xehanort’s Heartless.</p><p>“Yea,” he agrees, exhaling. “To protect the things that matter… that’s the strength I have now. Just as promised.”</p><p>“Ya made a promise? With who?” asks Mickey, ears twitching with curiosity, but Riku just shakes his head.</p><p>“I really can’t tell anyone, not even you,” he says, a rueful grin tugging at his lips. “Keeping it secret was part of the promise, after all.”</p><p>The magic wouldn’t wear off now, Riku is sure of that, but the memory is too precious to share. That person… is he one of the other two missing Keyblade Wielders? The timing seems right at least.</p><p>"Well, I'd never think of takin' that from ya." laughs Mickey. "It seems like it's a good memory, after all."</p><p>Riku nods, then shakes the last trace of that nostalgia from his mind. That person… he can think about that once they are done here. If they manage to rescue Aqua… maybe she'll know something. For now, it's back to the current mission.</p><p>"Mickey… since we arrived, did you notice anything familiar? Landmarks or something, from your last meeting with Aqua?" Riku can't help but frown as he glances around them. "Somehow, nothing looks similar to either of the times that I was here before."</p><p>Granted, he hadn't seen much when he had been here with Sora. His focus had been tied up with setting one foot before the other and breathing through the pain from his side, where Xemnas had hit him. Still, it's a bit reassuring that Mickey shakes his head.</p><p>"It looks different to me too," he admits. "The Realm of Darkness is balanced with the Realm of Light… so every change on one side probably affects the other too."</p><p>That makes a frightening amount of sense, really… and makes Riku wonder how they are supposed to have any chance at finding Aqua at all. The Realm of Darkness is just as vast as the Realm of Light, after all.</p><p>"Don't worry though," says Mickey before Riku can ask, almost cheerful as he continues to lead them forward. "Aqua and I… our Hearts are connected. As long as we trace that connection, we'll be sure to find her at the end! Though…"</p><p>His ears falls a bit, lips pressing together. "The closer we get, the more hazy our connection seems to grow. Last time, her Light felt like a beacon in the Darkness, warm and familiar. Now, it's like there is only the faintest glimmer left of it."</p><p>Riku tenses at that, concern twisting his gut. Darkness can take so many forms, after all, is far, far more than just anger and hate. Sorrow, doubt, loneliness… those are the quieter shapes of it and after spending more than ten years trapped here, all by herself… Aqua has to be feeling spades of those. Still… if there is at least a bit of light left at the end of her connection with Mickey…</p><p>"She hasn't totally given in," he notes quietly. "If you can still feel her Light at the other end, we aren't too late yet."</p><p>"Yer right," says Mickey. "But let's hurry. Aqua's been waiting more than long enough now."</p>
<hr/><p>It seems to take days to get anywhere in the Dark Realm, an eternity until they reach the end of the connection at the very familiar shores of the Dark Margin.</p><p>"I know this place…" Riku can't help but note. "It's where Sora and I ended up after we fought Xemnas. We found our way back home from here."</p><p>Kairi had led them, back then, had forged them a path from the connection between their Hearts.</p><p>"I don't think that Aqua had as much luck," Mickey replies, ears dropping slightly as he shakes his head. "She was here, I can feel that much… but her Light has moved to an abyss far beyond my reach. Ta dive deeper into the Darkness from here…"</p><p>"Well, we've come this far," Riku says, rolling back his shoulders. Much as he had hoped that they would be able to just pick up Aqua and maybe fight their way back out together, this situation isn't entirely unexpected. "The Darkness trapping Aqua… it can't be any worse than the nightmare that trapped Sora. And besides… isn't this exact scenario why Master Yen Sid wanted us to learn the power of waking in the first place?"</p><p>Mickey's ears peak in alarm at that, tail sweeping with agitation as he asks: "Ya want ta dive after Aqua? By yourself? That was already dangerous, when ya did it ta free Sora! Ta do that now…"</p><p>But Riku shakes his head, smiling faintly. "Not alone; I can't reach her by myself."</p><p>He calls for Way to the Dawn, thumb running along the grip as he considers how to put the requirements for the dive into words.</p><p>"The power of waking can't be used recklessly or on a whim. The best chance to make this work is to use a connection as anchor point to find my way to Aqua and then back again. I don't know Aqua, so we'll need to use your connection with her to dive down and then the bond between you and I to get back here. With you as my guide, I'll be the safest we can make me at this point, Mickey."</p><p>Mickey frown at that. "But if I guide and anchor ya, I won't be able ta help ya, if ya get attacked… by Aqua or by whatever is holdin' her captive. It's very risky… shouldn't we rather retreat and regroup with Master Yen Sid?"</p><p>"Regroup with who?" counters Riku. "Master Yen Sid is needed at the tower to coordinate and keep an eye on the bigger picture. Kairi and Axel are still training with Merlin and the fairies. Sora… he needs to focus on himself right now. How is he supposed to work on regaining his strength again, if we tell him about every little thing? You know exactly how easy he gets distracted."</p><p>Before Mickey can speak up and voice his lingering misgivings, Riku moves in for the kill: "I know that you want to protect me, and I appreciate that, maybe even more than you know. But like with Sora, I owe this to Aqua for saving me when we closed the Door. And… it's as you said before. Aqua has waited long enough to be rescued."</p><p>Mickey sighs then and shakes his head, resigned but with a note of fondness. "Yer so stubborn that I don't know how I thought I could stop you. Not while yer mind's made up like this."</p><p>He tilts his head, laughing faintly as he notes: "Ya know that this is exactly why Master Yen Sid kept this from the two of ya. Sora would be just the same, after all."</p><p>"I figured as much," Riku answers, letting himself feel the laughter bubbling in his chest as he grins back for a few more seconds. Then he lets it slip and straightens, closing both hands around Way to the Dawn's grip. He doesn't point it at Mickey just yet. "Alright, Mickey. Are you ready?"</p><p>"Less than I'd like," the mouse king admits wryly, but then nods. "Stay sharp, Riku. The Darkness that keeps Aqua trapped… it will be even more dangerous than the Heartless we encountered so far in this Realm. It'll be sure ta try trappin' ya there with her."</p><p>Riku nods: "Yea, I know. Still… I promise, I'll make it back and I'll bring Aqua too. This time around we aren't leaving anyone behind."</p><p>"I'll hold ya to that," says Mickey and then he moves out on the water, right above where he seems to sense the last traces of Aqua.</p><p>Riku takes last steadying breath before he lifts his Keyblade and takes aim. He watches the portal flash into existence, and focuses on unlocking it with Way to the Dawn's power. For a second he sees the light that connects him to the portal, before everything plunges into Darkness.</p>
<hr/><p>Diving has always been more like falling, like letting himself dip forward and rushing down Memory's Skyscraper. Riku had already stopped to fear hitting the ground long before that. A month ago, when he had dropped into the depth of Sora's nightmare, he'd seen gleams of Sora's memories and echoes of Sora himself. </p><p>This time, there is nothing but Darkness all around him and not even the faintest sign of Aqua… or the ground for that matter. Nothing but eery silence, until…</p><p>"<em>You shouldn't put yourself so close to the Darkness…</em>" echoes a woman's whisper, faint and far away. "<em>What else is Darkness, but hate and rage? You'll go astray again. Tell me… how does that honour our Master's memory, Terra?</em>"</p><p>Aqua it has to be. Terra… that had been one of the other missing wielders, hadn't it?</p><p>"<em>That's what I told him, didn't I? And now… I'm the one that put herself too close. Who went astray</em>," Aqua continues, voice laced with sorrow and the kind of despair that feels like it should be suffocating. "<em>If I fade away in this place… would anyone even notice?</em>"</p><p>Listening to her feels almost like a punch to the gut, because Riku knows this kind of despair. He remembers, when he had barely more than a Heart and wandering these paths with no light to guide him, when his regrets had been so heavy that he felt like he was drowning.</p><p>The time he spent here, first on his own, then with Mickey and later drifting into sleep before Sora's Heart had called to his from Castle Oblivion… it had been maybe a month at most. For Aqua to stay here for over a decade… it really was a miracle that Mickey had found her back then.</p><p>That despair hadn't taken her before already. </p><p>"<em>I couldn't keep my promises. They waited for me… counted on me and I couldn't… I thought… even from here, my light would be enough to cut through the shadows. That I would be a wayfinder to all that stumbled and lost their way. That maybe Ven would…</em>" she drifts, her voice hitching. "And <em>I waited because I was certain they would come. That <b>someone</b> would come. Someone should have come.</em>"</p><p>Riku shivers as the scent of the Darkness changes on his tongue, as he senses how anger and resentment start to twine into her sorrow.</p><p>"<em>They should have known, where I was. They <b>did</b> <b>know</b> where I was!</em>" Aqua hisses, anger rolling in her voice. "<em>So, why–</em>"</p><p>Riku hits the ground, crouches a moment to absorb the impact from the dive. It's the same as when he woke from diving into Sora, Darkness covering everything like a thick, oily film, and just like then, something rises from it, the Darkness slipping from a human form.</p><p>Aqua's eyes gleam yellow when they meet his, the skin of her fingers blacked and her hair… he remembers wearing that shade of grey. He remembers drowning in Ansem's Darkness and transforming his body… accepting that he would never be the same again. </p><p>It's strange… something about Aqua's Darkness reeks just like that too.</p><p>"Why did you leave me here?" she asks, her eyes narrowed and gleaming with bitter anger. "Mickey knew… he knew exactly where I was. Riku… you were here with him, back then…"</p><p>She steps closer, and Riku feels himself freeze, something cold and dark flooding his veins. Is this her fear, he is sensing? Her despair? Or is it him, his own doubt that–</p><p>"Back then… I protected you. I kept you safe, and yet you never thought to come," she is so close now, close enough to touch. "If I hadn't… it would have been you that was trapped. <b>If it hadn't been for you–</b>"</p><p>"Aqua–" Riku interrupts, fighting against the dark pressure crushing against his ribcage just to speak, "I'm sorry, I didn't <em>know</em>–"</p><p>The pressure twists around his throat, strangling him to silence as Aqua reaches over to set her hand over his Heart.</p><p>"<b>It should have been you</b><em><b>.</b></em>"</p><p>She pushes. The ground drops under Riku's feet and he finds himself falling as the Darkness crashes over him like the ocean's waves during a storm. He sees her lips press together as she turns away. </p><p>Then… nothing.</p>
<hr/><p>He floats somewhere in the dark. It's not like in Castle Oblivion, when Zexion's illusion had trapped him. Unlike then, it's so dark that he wouldn't be able to see even his own hand, if he were able to lift it. If his body didn't feel too heavy to do something as simple as that.</p><p>He's not fading into anything… he is being assimilated instead, he thinks. Becoming one with Darkness… that's the fate of everything… or at least that's what Ansem had always claimed. The way all begins, and the way all ends. Going back to the very beginning…</p><p>"<em>Heh… and here I thought, I had finally done something <b>original</b> when I died</em>," laughs a voice in his ears, an echo of his own. "<em>Between the two of us… who's the faithful replica now, Real Thing?</em>"</p><p>Riku feels a laugh bubbling up his throat, right under where the Darkness keeps it closed, as the memory rises in his Heart and mind. This voice, those words… he always <em>did</em> wondered…</p><p>"I promised…" he manages to wheeze, smiling into the dark. The Other Him… he knows he'll see it. "…didn't I?"</p><p>"<em>Yea, I guess you did.</em>" replies the Replica, sounding amused and maybe even a little fond. There is no trace left from the raging despair that had driven their last encounter. "<em>In the end, our hearts went to the same place after all.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Nice as it is to see you, why are you even here?</em>" he continues. "<em>I thought you weren't afraid of the dark anymore.</em>"</p><p>"Not afraid," Riku whispers, and he <em>isn't</em>. Not of the Darkness anyway… but what Aqua had said– </p><p>Except… Mickey had warned him before… that the Darkness would seek to trap him right here, with Aqua. Her true feelings… it's not the resentment that pushed him down just now. Given that particular stench of the resentment within it, maybe this isn't <em>her</em> Darkness in first place. "I came to free someone. She got trapped in the dark… and can't find her way home."</p><p>"<em>Great job so far</em>," snickers the Other Him, sarcasm sharp but not quite unkind. "<em>Well, you won't get anywhere with that if you stay here. Shall I lend you a hand?</em>"</p><p>"Please…" Riku manages, and then the pressure grows less and breathing becomes easier again as warmth returns into his blood and warms even the tips of his fingers. When he reaches into himself, he can feel the gleam of Way to the Dawn tingling under the skin of his palm, ready to answer his call. The Other Him is close by, he knows. Even without a body, having a Heart is enough to exist in the Darkness, after all. </p><p>Riku tilts his head lightly and doesn't let himself overthink what his Heart is telling him to ask: "Come with me?"</p><p>"<em>Well, if you are <b>offering</b>…</em>" The Other Him laughs again, presses forward until it feels like their foreheads are touching against another. "<em>This was a really boring place to take a nap at anyway!</em>"</p><p>The echo of his own words from so long ago and their shared laugh stays as the Other's Heart sinks into his body and nestles right next to his own. Riku exhales before he calls for Way to the Dawn, wrapping both hands around the grips. Then he uses it to cut straight through the Darkness… and turns it to Light.</p>
<hr/><p>He is standing on Aqua's station of Heart again when the Light dims away, sees the way her arm drops from shielding her eyes and the fury that narrows them when she sees him.</p><p>"<em>How?</em>" she asks. "How did you escape<em>?</em> Why <b>you</b> and not<em>–</em>"</p><p>Why not her, Riku completes the cut-off sentence, and doesn't think much when his left hand comes up to settle over his own Heart. Over the place where now a second Heart… well, not sleeps. He can feel the Replica's emotions press against his own, and maybe if he wasn't about to fight he'd reach back and see if they can talk, heart to heart. </p><p>This is not the time for experiments though.</p><p>"I got lucky again," he admits, without boast but also without shame. "You aren't the only one who got lost so deeply in the Darkness and he helped me dispel my doubts again. You won't get another chance to trap me, Aqua. …Or is it really Xehanort that I'm talking to?"</p><p>The stench of her resentment… it is far too similar to the stench of Ansem… Xehanort's Heartless. Riku has stopped believing in coincidence a while ago, especially where any version of that guy is involved.</p><p>"He found me when nobody else would come. He took the one person who kept me company in so long<em>,</em>" she whispers, black sparks jumping between her fingers. Her Keyblade about to manifest, most likely. "This parting gift he left me… I'll use it to curse everyone that doomed me to this existence<em>.</em>"</p><p>"That's not you talking, Aqua," Riku tells her, shifting his feet to ready himself for the incoming battle. "It's only the nightmare that Xehanort trapped you in. But don't worry… I got plenty practice in devouring those."</p><p>"<em>You can try</em>!" she hisses, Darkness crackling and sparking her Keyblade in existence. It's a simple design, like serious version of the Kingdom Key; a long grey blade with a deep-black handle. He'll have to watch out to stay out of her reach, is the last thing that Riku things before battle reflex takes over and he dodges backwards as Aqua rushes at him, some kind of barrier magic swirling at the tip of her weapon.</p><p>He blocks the next swing and uses the abundance of Darkness around them to step through the shadows and reappear behind her. When he swings his Keyblade at her, it hits nothing – cutting down the illusion that Aqua left as decoy. Riku spins around, ready to attack or defend… only to see dozens of Aqua's illusions surrounding him, circling him. He can feel the Replica's Heart pulse next to his, their thoughts similar. For both of them, the last encounter with this kind of magic had been Zexion.</p><p>He won't be able to find her like he found Zexion, Riku thinks and closes his eyes. With so much Darkness all around them, there is no point in searching for Darkness in the Light… but no matter how well, Xehanort had suppressed that last glimmer of her Light, he's not managed to stamp it out just yet. All he has to do–</p><p>"There you are," says Riku, eyes still closed as he swings Way to the Dawn and drives it into the real Aqua's side, unleashing a combo of hits to keep her stunned as he shouts. "Open your eyes and <em>fight</em> this, Aqua. I wouldn't be able to find you among the illusions if that nightmare was really all that's left!"</p><p>Her nightmare-self roars wordlessly as she casts Blizzaza after Blizzaza, and even though Riku manages to dodge most of that damage, the tiny ice crystals that keep clinging to his cloths and skin may wear him down sooner or later. </p><p>He melts into the shadows again when she recalls her illusions and reappears in front of the only glimmer of Light that isn't him, Way to the Dawn slipping from his grasp as he reaches out and pulls her close, trapping her arms against her body with his own, one hand resting against the back of her head. He won't be able to contain her for more than a few seconds, but hopefully that will be enough to make her listen, he prays as he whispers: "I'm so sorry we left you here, Aqua. Please… come back. Let's go <em>home</em>!"</p><p>Don't let Xehanort win, he wants to add, but she turns rigid in his arms, tense but not like she's struggling against him anymore. When he lets go and steps back, Aqua reaches up, palms pressing against the sides of her head as she screams… and shatters. Splinters of Darkness crumble from her like broken mirror shards (like the nightmare armour that had trapped Sora), as she crumbles with a quiet sigh, and Riku can't help a relieved breath of his own as he catches her before she hits the ground.</p><p>He won't let her disappear, like he did Sora. She probably won't have any helpful guide that will point him home in her Heart, after all.</p><p>Around them, the Darkness shifts with agitation, displeased with having lost the Heart it trapped, and they are definitely not sticking out until it retaliates, Riku thinks and shifts to sling Aqua's arm over his shoulders, head tilting up as he reaches inside himself for his connection to Mickey and <em>pulls</em>.</p>
<hr/><p>Mickey is hardly new to feeling anxiety – he hasn't seen quite as many years as Master Yen Sid or even Scrooge McDuck, but his lifespan is plenty longer than that of most humans. He's learned to sooth or suppress it, to ignore any whisper of uncertainty or doubt. He had been the only Keyblade Wielder traveling their side of the worlds for a decade, looking for lost friends and trying to combat the forces of Darkness that the likes of Maleficent and Xehanort unleashed upon them all…</p><p>He's learned a new shape of it since meeting Riku, the kind that makes him want to take upon any and all hardship that his friend has to face.</p><p>Wanting to protect someone is hardly anything of note either – he's been a Keyblade Master for long enough and King on Minnie's side for even longer – but Riku…</p><p>"I know it hurts ta see 'em grow up," Goofy had murmured back at the Mysterious Tower, when Riku had dived into Sora's Heart to drag him out of that Darkness, lips curled to an understanding smile. "But ya gotta let 'im. He won't thank ya for tryin' ta protect 'im when he doesn't need ya to." </p><p>Donald nods, arms crossed over his chest, and Mickey knows they must feels similar about Sora. Goofy certainly feels like this about his son… Max has steadily been working his way up in the ranks with P.J. at his side. One day – in the far future, hopefully – they'll succeed Goofy and Donald in their positions as Captain of the Guard and Court Magician, but not yet.</p><p>Riku, on the other hand, has already been named Keyblade Master, and is too deeply entangled into Xehanort's plots either way… and Mickey really has no right to feel quite so parental, probably, not when Riku has actual parents waiting for him on the Islands, no matter what expectations–</p><p>There is no point to think about what-ifs and his own Heart's Darkness that wants nothing more than to offer Riku the home that Disney Castle could be to him. Minnie might like that too, he thinks, even if she only knows Riku from his stories. Minnie is nothing but amazing, and their Hearts have always been in agreement on the ones that they love.</p><p>He thinks about the room she set up when he had been home the last time, the bed that had been large enough for three children. He thinks about how it would be nice to host Sora and Kairi, and Riku most of all, even if only for a little while, without having any Heartless or Xehanort's plots to worry about.</p><p>His focus stays with that image, with ideas for a future and on Riku in it – it's the best way to strengthen their connection. Riku is counting on him after–</p><p>Mickey gasps when he feels a sharp tug in his Heart. He can feel Riku reach for him through their connection, and curls his fingers as he calls Star Seeker. He hardly uses his old Keyblade anymore, but for this particular task a Keyblade from the Realm of Light will be better suited, he's sure. He slots it into the Keyhole that formed beneath his feat, feels the click of the magical unlocking reverberate in his Heart.</p><p>Seconds later, the water starts to bubble up – first faint, then almost violently – and then Riku breaks through gasping, a slim figure tugged against his side. </p><p><em>Aqua</em>, Mickey notes relieved. He rushes over to meet Riku, hovering a bit maybe… he rarely ever bemoans his size, but right now it wouldn't hurt to be a little bit taller, to be more support than hinderance in bringing Aqua to the shore. Riku carefully lowers her to the ground once they are out of the water, then drops into the sand himself. He looks a little exhausted, but otherwise none the worse for wear.</p><p>The faint thrum of anxiety in Mickey's Heart settles when Riku turns and smiles faintly: "We made it. All that's left now is finding the way home."</p><p>Mickey returns that smile; he's already reaching for the Kingdom Key D. "I think, I can do something about that."</p>
<hr/><p>It's dark. Cold. Aqua has known little but Darkness and the chill it leaves her with for over a decade. She used to be able to hope, she thinks. To remember the Realm of Light without bitterness… though never without longing. She may have been waiting, she thinks.</p><p>Waiting for someone…</p><p>The Darkness clings to her, ever since she fell into the abyss of the Dark World. Even more so since that Stranger that may have been Xehanort–</p><p>Does it matter what he had done to her? Does it matter that someone may come for her, when she doesn't have any strength left to continue?</p><p>If this time, she truly fades into Darkness…</p><p>There is a voice calling for her, the words distorted and far away. Aqua squints through her eyelashes up above where the faintest spark of something bright and gentle gleams down at her. She can't make out much of it, barely registers the word nightmare… </p><p>An aptly enough description of where she has found herself, she thinks.</p><p>Then, from one moment to the next, that spark of Light is close, is at her side and she can feel the phantom pressure of a hug pulling her in.</p><p>"I'm sorry we left you here," whispers the Light, sounding young and sincere and somehow so much like Terra that it hurts. "Please… come back. Let's go <em>home</em>!"</p><p>Aqua feels the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips as she reaches towards that light to drag herself from the abyss of Darkness that held her trapped. Maybe she has some strength left to continue after all.</p><p>For a second she catches the glimpse of someone reaching for her… then, nothing but the oblivion of sleep.</p>
<hr/><p>She feels warm when her thoughts drag her back to the waking world. Her head is supported by some kind of makeshift pillow, while the rest of her rests on warm… sand? The feeling on her skin is almost like sunlight… like the moments that she spent on the fallen Destiny Islands right before it returned to where it belongs.</p><p>Strange… she's never needed to sleep in the Dark World. What good is sleep in a realm without time, after all?</p><p>"Aqua?" a boyish voice asks quietly as she shifts and turns, squinting before she blinks away the exhaustion. She finds herself lying under a pair of palm trees, glimpsing at a brilliantly azure sky with no cloud in sight.</p><p>"Aqua! Good ta see ya coming ta!" says a more familiar voice than before and when she turns her head she sees Mickey at her side, tail sweeping and smile relieved. Beyond him… her Heart lurches in that first second – could it be… <em>Terra?</em> – but the vision of her friend fades into a different boy, a little younger than Terra and she had been back when…</p><p>Before everything went wrong, so long ago, she met two boys on a world just like this. Riku… the boy that Terra had passed the power to…</p><p>She puts her focus back on Mickey. Before everything else, there is something she needs to– "This… Is this really the Realm of Light?"</p><p>Her old friend's smile is so gentle that it almost burns as he reaches and takes her hand, squeezing her fingers before closing them around… her Wayfinder? The connections she built during that journey spark then, and Aqua can't help the quiet sob that escapes her when she feels dormant bonds reigniting, reconnecting… </p><p>It leaves her warm and certain, even while Mickey answers to reassure her: "It sure is."</p><p>Beyond him Riku nods, reserved and sincere like he was as a child – he is even taller now than the last glimpse she caught of him before the Demon Tide carried her away, and his Heart is not quite the bright Light that she remembers from his childhood. There are shadows twining with it, a bit more than usual for a Keyblade Wielder and it would feel similar to Terra's presence at the end… except that Riku's shadows are tame. Part of the whole in a way that she's never sensed before.</p><p>There is so much that she missed, she thinks, that she and Terra should have been part of…</p><p>Maybe they'll have the chance now, she thinks when she takes Riku's hand and lets him help pull her up. After all… </p><p>"I'm home," she tells him, smiles when he nods again and squeezes her fingers.</p><p>"Welcome back."</p><p>
  <em>--- FIN---</em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Or is it?</p><p>I have a lots of plans for this AU – this One-Shot was supposed to close on some hints for that but Aqua demanded to be given a break when I wrote her scenes, and really she deserves it.</p><p>That said, lose plans for shenanigans that will hopefully be penned into words sometimes this year maybe:</p><p>- Riku + Kairi + Aqua go Radiant Garden feat. Original Apprentice Shenanigans<br/>- Mickey + AxeLea bonding mission – "Where in the Worlds Is Ansem The Wise?" (please imagine this question to the og Carmen Sandiego OP melody)<br/>- Sora and Kairi comparing notes and actually meeting checkpoints on their respective Bring My Nobody Back To Life-quests<br/>– True Org Shenanigans feat. LuXigBraig being his usual self (and also antagonizing Aqua at some point prob) and also the Hunt For The Number XIII (is it Terra? Is it Xion? Is it Roxas? Questions, questions…)</p><p>…I think I should stop here, because it is midnight and I'm starting to talk in memes. Nevertheless, if any of the above appeals to you, <b>please leave me a comment or contact me over social media</b>! Kudos are also appreciated and I'd especially love if you took the time to promote this story via <a href="https://iceylyst.tumblr.com/post/644406773903687680/reconnect-remixed-iceyly-kingdom-hearts">reblog</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/iceylyst/status/1366164643190816787">retweet</a>! &lt;3</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://iceylyst.tumblr.com/">writing tumblr</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/iceylyst/">twitter</a></p><p> </p><p>In two weeks, I'll hopefully have the next Chapter of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549049/chapters/67379293">Second Star To Left</a> up! See you then! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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